I have something closer to the Wycome set - although fabric (washable) padded seats and a bench. However I love the luxurious look of the Maddox chairs. I think probably the Wycombe is more functional on a regular use kind of table, however the Maddox would be great for dinner parties where you might spend an entire evening at the dining table!

I did originally plan for shaker cupboards above with push to open mechanism, but whilst working with the designer I changed my mind. There were some issues with practicality. I also want them to be wide horizontally rather than vertically, which didn’t look right when I saw the plans. The handleless units look exactly as I want, so I’m going to go for it! However, I do have push to open shaker cupboards on the wall in another area, but it’s not a cooking or eating area. Difficult to explain. They are tall, vertical, traditional looking ones. When looking at the finished plan it looks fine because the push to open shaker style cupboards can be seen not too far from some tall shaker cupboards, whereas the handleless ones aren’t near any other tall or wall units. I’m not sure I’ve explained that very well, but the plans and walkthroughs all look good.

I spoke to Blakes London recently who have done exactly this for a client - maybe give them a call? They did waterjet to create the right size tiles to match the wood. They have the effect on show in their showroom, it looks great. I would be cautious however about colour match as I suspect the wood would fade over time if you have a lot of light whereas the tile won't fade.

Can't steam plasterboard either, as it also has a paper lining. I used st.marcs in a sprayer to remove terrible wallpaper. It took a lot longer than with a steamer, but kept the paper lining intact. (Thin downthe st.marcs in water of course.) Try to remove the top edges first and all other loose parts. Spray and let it soak in for at least ten minutes. Use a putty knife but be very careful not to rip the lining. Also wash the walls with a soft cloth afterwards. When done, it might be usefull to paint over it with a renovation-paint* or primer, to prevent any bleeding of the chipboard. (* alkyd based wallpaint) You could use glass fiber wallpaper (no idea what this is called in english) afterwards, as this can be painted over and over again.